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When I was a lower case k,
I would participate in the drama.
I would listen to gossip
(though I wouldn’t pass it along).
I would sprout off an opinion.
I would get heated about things like
that poorly written memo
on appropriate casual Friday wear.

Then I realized…

Drama is a time suck.

It is also a passion suck
and ultimately a success suck.
Look at the people
actively participating in drama.
What have they last accomplished?

Be aware of what the drama is
(because it might interfere
with your project or team)
but don’t participate
or follow it too closely.
Allocate that time to doing.

The ten minutes that mattered
to Dean Kamen,
inventor of the Segway,
were spent with his dad.

His dad told him
“If there’s one thing you do
while you’re young,
figure out what you love.
Figure out what you want
to do more than
playing ball in that street.
Then figure out
how to make money at it.
We spend more time at our jobs
than anything else.”

“Many people,
especially young people,
think success is event-related.
You announce.
You ship.
And then life is good
and you go straight to the moon.
Instead, what happens is
you ship with bugs in the software,
and people don’t like your product.
Then you fix and fix and fix,
and you keep shipping.
I suppose
there are some instant successes,
but that’s principally an oxymoron.
That’s like saying
Sidney Crosby was an instant success
in the NHL.
Well, sure,
in his first two years he did very well,
but that ignores
the 17 previous years he practiced
or played hockey five hours a day.
There’s no instant there, or here.”

As Food Network hostGuy Fieri
explains
“What do people want?
Contact.
People want to be able
to see you and touch you.
Are you real?
The No. 1 thing
I hear from people
when I meet them
in the airport is,
“Oh my gosh,
you’re just like you are on TV.”
Well, I’m not an actor.
I don’t think anyone
could figure out
how to be this weird. ”

If people want contact
with their celebrities,
don’t you think
they’d want contact from their managers?

I know an author
who has the top 8 spaces
on her small publisher’s bestseller list.
She still has to submit
through the slush pile
with everyone else.
She gets one line rejection emails
with no explanation on
why her manuscript was rejected.

She is, of course, submitting her stories
elsewhere.
When she leaves,
her sales will leave
and that publisher will remain small.

I know a salesman
who brings in 80% of the sales
in his division.
He wanted an assistant
because he had so much work.
He was told no.
No salesmen in his division
have assistants.
He hired his own assistant
and is looking for a company
who will appreciate him.

Your stars SHOULD get preferential treatment.
There should be a reward
for achieving
(unless you don’t want achievement).